The third day of the first test between England and the West Indies, England resuming overnight on 259-3, ahead by 16, with captain Strauss on 121 not out. Kemar Roach found some early movement, and had Strauss caught by Denesh Ramdin on review, which showed the inside edge. Jonny Bairstow then came in on debut to join Ian Bell, and played nicely for 16, though was nearly run out getting off the mark. He was LBW to Roach England wobbled, making a possible 450 much less likely. Matt Prior (19) then missed a drive to give Shannon Gabriel his first wicket in tests, charging off towards point to celebrate. Tim Bresnan (0) had a fatal waft outside off to be caught behind to give captain Darren Sammy his first wicket
Lunch then came at 341-7, but Stuart Broad was bowled by Fidel Edwards for 10 in the first over after lunch, 343-8. Bell finally found a reliable partner in Graeme Swann, and they added 55 in seven overs, Bell reaching fifty off 94 balls and Swann hitting six fours in a 25 ball 30, when Gabriel bowled him. Bell then was last out, looking to heave Gabriel into the Mound Stand, only to be well caught by Keiran Powell at deep square leg.
So 398 by England, a lead of 155 was good, but could have been much more, the pick of the bowlers being Gabriel (3-60) and Roach (3-108).
The West Indies reply started slowly, but saw off James Anderson and Broad without trouble, but the introduction of Bresnan started a slide, as Adrian Barath edged behind for 24, 36-1. Then 4 balls later, Powell pulled Broad straight to Bell at deep square leg, falling for an obvious ploy, 36-2. The chaos before tea was completed four balls later, as Darren Bravo played the ball to cover, Kirk Edwards set off for the single, Bravo didn't, the pair standing mid-pitch pointing and Edwards scramble back was wasted as Jonny Bairstow had picked up the ball and gunned down the middle stump, West Indies 36-3 and in chaos at tea.
After tea things got slightly better as Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Bravo looked to bat for some time in an effort to stop the slide, which they did, although Anderson dropped a flying chance at slip off Bresnan, the only chance Chanderpaul gave, as the intensity dropped with England scratching their heads as to how to prise them out. Swann eventually got the breakthrough, Bravo (21) leaving one that went down the slope and knocked back the off stump. 65-4, but Marlon Samuels and Chanderpaul managed to see out the rest of the day without any further trouble, 120-4, Chanderpaul 34 not out and Samuels 26 not out still trailing by 35.
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Sunday 13 May 2012
A Bad Day for B "oh no" para
The final day of Essex vs Kent at Chelmsford was a dull affair on paper as it quickly became evident that neither side fancied a result (unlike other games around the country) and we'd be off at 5pm pretty much whatever.
So Essex began 94-2 with Mark Pettini on 61 and Billy Godleman on 27, and Mark Davies struck ninth ball of the day with Godleman falling LBW so 94-3. Greg Smith then came, played a glorious drive past mid-off for four, then edged to James Tredwell next ball to give Charlie Shreck his first wicket.
The news was that Alviro Petersen (ankle) and Ravi Bopara (thigh tear) would bat with runners and having been off the field could only come in after 5 wickets down. This meant James Foster came in and he and Pettini played well, Pettini in particular taking 12 off a Shreck over. Ivan Thomas, making his Kent debut replaced Shreck at the River End, and soon had Essex in all sorts of bother, as Foster aimed a powerful cut, only for Brendan Nash to leap at point and cling on and had two wickets in four balls as Pettini, destined for a first hundred for a couple of years, played around a straight one and was LBW for 92. This left Essex a bit stuffed at 140-6, as they were obviously planning on gaining some batting points, which looked some way off.
Now we had the highlight of possibly the season as Petersen (with Tom Westley) and Bopara (with Smith) batted together with runners, this only lasted five balls as Bopara almost ran his first run, so both batsmen dispensed with their runners at the end of the over. Bopara was ordered (via the twelfth man) that he must bat with a runner, so Greg Smith (who'd already gone back to the dressing room and taken off his helmet) came back out looking thoroughly fed up with it all.
Petersen was charging between the wickets and hobbling afterwards, becided that boundaries was the best way forward, smiting one off Davies before spooning to midwicket where Scott Newman took a good diving catch to his right giving Davies his fourth.
Lunch came almost after that wicket at 158-7, and afterwards, with no prospect of a contrived chase happening, Bopara (looking more uncomfortable by the ball) and David Masters then decided to bore their way towards 200, with Masters getting a slightly ironic round of applause when he scored his first run after some long time. The pair ground on and on, and it was a relief when ninth ball with the new ball, Shreck found the edged of Masters bat to Ben Harmison to go for one of the most boring 9s known to humankind (47 balls), the pair had added 23 in 17 overs. 181-8 then became 181-9 since Tymal Mills was LBW first ball to Shreck. Willoughby survived the hat trick ball and the next ball, before Bopara farmed the strike for the first 3 balls from Davies.
Then came the moment of the match, as Bopara (on 19) dabbed the ball to Newman at deep-ish cover and Willoughby went through for the single, but Bopara ambled down the other end as well, along with the runner, which nobody noticed immediately as Newman picked up the ball, only to look up and see Shreck charging in from fine leg gesticulating wildly and shouting to Newman to run out Bopara as he'd left his crease at the striker's end. Bopara heard this as well and started back, but in vain as Newman threw to Geraint Jones to complete the easiest run out of his career.
The incident was similar to the 2010 T20 final when Somerset didn't realise they could run out the batsman. This left Essex 181 all out with 50 overs left in the day, the pick of the Kent bowlers being Davies (24.4-13-20-4). Nothing more interesting was going to happen now and Rob Key and Newman saw through to tea at 38-0, Key playing a nice reverse sweep for four off Westley on the way. After tea, Newman hit a couple of fours off Mills, before giving Westley an easy return catch on 24, 54-2. Ben Harmison was then caught at 2nd slip for 1 off Mills in the next over, 57-2, but that was the last real action as Nash (22 not out) and Key (40 not out) saw out the 10 overs before at 4:50 Kent declared on 92-2 and the players shook hands, Essex taking 6 points and Kent 7.
So Essex began 94-2 with Mark Pettini on 61 and Billy Godleman on 27, and Mark Davies struck ninth ball of the day with Godleman falling LBW so 94-3. Greg Smith then came, played a glorious drive past mid-off for four, then edged to James Tredwell next ball to give Charlie Shreck his first wicket.
The news was that Alviro Petersen (ankle) and Ravi Bopara (thigh tear) would bat with runners and having been off the field could only come in after 5 wickets down. This meant James Foster came in and he and Pettini played well, Pettini in particular taking 12 off a Shreck over. Ivan Thomas, making his Kent debut replaced Shreck at the River End, and soon had Essex in all sorts of bother, as Foster aimed a powerful cut, only for Brendan Nash to leap at point and cling on and had two wickets in four balls as Pettini, destined for a first hundred for a couple of years, played around a straight one and was LBW for 92. This left Essex a bit stuffed at 140-6, as they were obviously planning on gaining some batting points, which looked some way off.
Now we had the highlight of possibly the season as Petersen (with Tom Westley) and Bopara (with Smith) batted together with runners, this only lasted five balls as Bopara almost ran his first run, so both batsmen dispensed with their runners at the end of the over. Bopara was ordered (via the twelfth man) that he must bat with a runner, so Greg Smith (who'd already gone back to the dressing room and taken off his helmet) came back out looking thoroughly fed up with it all.
Petersen was charging between the wickets and hobbling afterwards, becided that boundaries was the best way forward, smiting one off Davies before spooning to midwicket where Scott Newman took a good diving catch to his right giving Davies his fourth.
Lunch came almost after that wicket at 158-7, and afterwards, with no prospect of a contrived chase happening, Bopara (looking more uncomfortable by the ball) and David Masters then decided to bore their way towards 200, with Masters getting a slightly ironic round of applause when he scored his first run after some long time. The pair ground on and on, and it was a relief when ninth ball with the new ball, Shreck found the edged of Masters bat to Ben Harmison to go for one of the most boring 9s known to humankind (47 balls), the pair had added 23 in 17 overs. 181-8 then became 181-9 since Tymal Mills was LBW first ball to Shreck. Willoughby survived the hat trick ball and the next ball, before Bopara farmed the strike for the first 3 balls from Davies.
Then came the moment of the match, as Bopara (on 19) dabbed the ball to Newman at deep-ish cover and Willoughby went through for the single, but Bopara ambled down the other end as well, along with the runner, which nobody noticed immediately as Newman picked up the ball, only to look up and see Shreck charging in from fine leg gesticulating wildly and shouting to Newman to run out Bopara as he'd left his crease at the striker's end. Bopara heard this as well and started back, but in vain as Newman threw to Geraint Jones to complete the easiest run out of his career.
The incident was similar to the 2010 T20 final when Somerset didn't realise they could run out the batsman. This left Essex 181 all out with 50 overs left in the day, the pick of the Kent bowlers being Davies (24.4-13-20-4). Nothing more interesting was going to happen now and Rob Key and Newman saw through to tea at 38-0, Key playing a nice reverse sweep for four off Westley on the way. After tea, Newman hit a couple of fours off Mills, before giving Westley an easy return catch on 24, 54-2. Ben Harmison was then caught at 2nd slip for 1 off Mills in the next over, 57-2, but that was the last real action as Nash (22 not out) and Key (40 not out) saw out the 10 overs before at 4:50 Kent declared on 92-2 and the players shook hands, Essex taking 6 points and Kent 7.
Friday 11 May 2012
A Howelling Defeat
The opening game of the CB40 for Middlesex was against Gloucestershire at Lord's. The afternoon started damp and wet and when it finally stopped, we had a 26 over game in front of the Sky cameras. Gloucestershire won the toss and fielded, which looked like a good decision as Middlesex scored only a single off 3 of the first 4 overs. Dawid Malan and Joe Denly then began to pick up the pace and had put on 45 in 7 overs when Denly missed a drive to Graham McCarter and was bowled for 25.
A slow outfield was making runs harder to come by and Malan finally snapped, heaving the spin of Ed Young to Benny Howell at deep mid-wicket for 22, Chris Rogers then edged Howell to Jon Batty and Middlesex were 58-3. Paul Stirling was one of the few who mastered the conditions and cracked three fours as Middlesex began to recover, but Neil Dexter aimed a huge swipe off Young, and was caught at long-on for 9. Then the key blow as Young spun one past Stirling through to Batty, Young was the only one to appeal and it was given out, much to Stirling's surprise (25 off 21).
Gareth Berg and John Simpson rebuilt the innings from 90-5, gradually increasing the scoring rate as they added 47 for the sixth wicket before McCarter grabbed his 2nd wicket on debut, Hamish Marshall holding the catch at long-off to dismiss Simpson for the top score 29. Berg edged Ian Saxelby behind next over, and Steven Crook was caught at cover in the final over as McCarter finished with 3-41. Young finished with 3-26 off 6 overs. Ollie Rayner's 13 off 6 provided a useful flourish as Middlesex 157-8, a good total but it seemed 10-15 runs too few.
Chris Dent smashed two fours off Tim Murtagh's first over, but fell LBW to the final ball for 8. Marshall then laid into Collymore, hitting 22 off his two overs as Gloucestershire raced to 54-1 after 5 overs. Howell provided good support, and Middlesex needed a quick wicket, and they got one as Rayner struck in his first over having Marshall LBW for 33 off 22, 61-2. Howell and Kane Williamson carried on accumulating as Gloucestershire reached 89 after 10 overs. Steven Crook then struck having Williamson LBW first ball for 9.
Alex Gidman carried on the quick hitting, blasting 26 off 21 before Rayner bowled him on his way to 2-29 off 6 overs. Ian Cockbain was the last wicket to fall for 19 LBW to Dexter, 149-5 but only nine needed off 7 overs. Howell soon ended proceedings, smashing Denly through midwicket or four to win by five wickets with 22 balls left, Howell 45 off 48 (3 fours, 1 six). Young was awarded man of the match.
A slow outfield was making runs harder to come by and Malan finally snapped, heaving the spin of Ed Young to Benny Howell at deep mid-wicket for 22, Chris Rogers then edged Howell to Jon Batty and Middlesex were 58-3. Paul Stirling was one of the few who mastered the conditions and cracked three fours as Middlesex began to recover, but Neil Dexter aimed a huge swipe off Young, and was caught at long-on for 9. Then the key blow as Young spun one past Stirling through to Batty, Young was the only one to appeal and it was given out, much to Stirling's surprise (25 off 21).
Gareth Berg and John Simpson rebuilt the innings from 90-5, gradually increasing the scoring rate as they added 47 for the sixth wicket before McCarter grabbed his 2nd wicket on debut, Hamish Marshall holding the catch at long-off to dismiss Simpson for the top score 29. Berg edged Ian Saxelby behind next over, and Steven Crook was caught at cover in the final over as McCarter finished with 3-41. Young finished with 3-26 off 6 overs. Ollie Rayner's 13 off 6 provided a useful flourish as Middlesex 157-8, a good total but it seemed 10-15 runs too few.
Chris Dent smashed two fours off Tim Murtagh's first over, but fell LBW to the final ball for 8. Marshall then laid into Collymore, hitting 22 off his two overs as Gloucestershire raced to 54-1 after 5 overs. Howell provided good support, and Middlesex needed a quick wicket, and they got one as Rayner struck in his first over having Marshall LBW for 33 off 22, 61-2. Howell and Kane Williamson carried on accumulating as Gloucestershire reached 89 after 10 overs. Steven Crook then struck having Williamson LBW first ball for 9.
Alex Gidman carried on the quick hitting, blasting 26 off 21 before Rayner bowled him on his way to 2-29 off 6 overs. Ian Cockbain was the last wicket to fall for 19 LBW to Dexter, 149-5 but only nine needed off 7 overs. Howell soon ended proceedings, smashing Denly through midwicket or four to win by five wickets with 22 balls left, Howell 45 off 48 (3 fours, 1 six). Young was awarded man of the match.
Thursday 10 May 2012
I Declare The Improbable Possible
The morning of the final day of Middlesex vs Worcestershire had the game turned on it's head as Daryl Mitchell approached Chris Rogers with the offer of a match. As a result Worcestershire declared on their overnight 45-2 and Middlesex forfeited their 2nd innings leaving Worcestershire with 283 to win from 96 overs.
Mitchell and Michael Klinger looked none to sure as they edged and played and missed their way to 21 before Klinger did what Dexter had the day before, leaving one that swung in this time from Murtagh and this time, LBW rather than bowled for 12. Mitchell then hacked to Dawid Malan at slip to fall for 9 in Murtagh's next over as 26-2 then became 35-4 as Andrew Strauss caught both Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali off Gareth Berg and Toby Roland-Jones. The chase looked off, but Matt Pardoe and James Cameron showed some fight, as they took the score past 50 in the 24th over. But another wicket was bound to go, and it did, Pardoe edging Berg to John Simpson 14. Lunch then came with Worcestershire 73-5 and the question was now, could they last until tea?
Worcestershire's problem wasn't losing wickets occasionally, it was losing them in huge torrents, as was exemplified after lunch as first Cameron (30), Ben Scott (13) and David Lucas (3) all went in the space of 10 balls to Murtagh and Roland-Jones as they crashed to 96-8 with 60 overs left in the day. Aneesh Kapil and Richard Jones then went about hitting the total towards respectability as after some swinging and missing they picked up a couple of boundaries. Rogers then brought Malan on from the Nursery End and Steve Finn on from the Pavilion end. Jones tried to flog Malan out of the ground and was just missed by Rogers at deep mid-off and Berg at cover before swiping a flat six into the Grand Stand.
The plan seemed to be, Kapil plays out Finn, Jones targets Malan, and Jones brought up the 50 for the ninth wicket with the top edged slog which hung in the air before dropping over the short boundary to the Grand Stand just over the head of Finn. Kapil brought up the 150 with the first ball of the next over, giving Finn a shot at Jones. He needed just one ball, as the edge from Jones screamed low into the gully where Neil Dexter pulled off a stunning catch diving to his left to break the partnership on 54 with Jones top scoring with 32 off 33. The end was nigh, as Finn yorked Richarson 3rd ball, for a duck on his 37th birthday, as Middlesex pulled off an unlikely win by 132 runs, Kapil finishing 21 not out. Roland-Jones took 3-29, Murtagh 3-39, Berg 2-20 and Finn 2-30 as a solid team bowling effort gave the hosts 19 points for their 2nd win of the year as they rose to third in the table with Worcestershire's two points leaving them 2nd from bottom.
Mitchell and Michael Klinger looked none to sure as they edged and played and missed their way to 21 before Klinger did what Dexter had the day before, leaving one that swung in this time from Murtagh and this time, LBW rather than bowled for 12. Mitchell then hacked to Dawid Malan at slip to fall for 9 in Murtagh's next over as 26-2 then became 35-4 as Andrew Strauss caught both Vikram Solanki and Moeen Ali off Gareth Berg and Toby Roland-Jones. The chase looked off, but Matt Pardoe and James Cameron showed some fight, as they took the score past 50 in the 24th over. But another wicket was bound to go, and it did, Pardoe edging Berg to John Simpson 14. Lunch then came with Worcestershire 73-5 and the question was now, could they last until tea?
Worcestershire's problem wasn't losing wickets occasionally, it was losing them in huge torrents, as was exemplified after lunch as first Cameron (30), Ben Scott (13) and David Lucas (3) all went in the space of 10 balls to Murtagh and Roland-Jones as they crashed to 96-8 with 60 overs left in the day. Aneesh Kapil and Richard Jones then went about hitting the total towards respectability as after some swinging and missing they picked up a couple of boundaries. Rogers then brought Malan on from the Nursery End and Steve Finn on from the Pavilion end. Jones tried to flog Malan out of the ground and was just missed by Rogers at deep mid-off and Berg at cover before swiping a flat six into the Grand Stand.
The plan seemed to be, Kapil plays out Finn, Jones targets Malan, and Jones brought up the 50 for the ninth wicket with the top edged slog which hung in the air before dropping over the short boundary to the Grand Stand just over the head of Finn. Kapil brought up the 150 with the first ball of the next over, giving Finn a shot at Jones. He needed just one ball, as the edge from Jones screamed low into the gully where Neil Dexter pulled off a stunning catch diving to his left to break the partnership on 54 with Jones top scoring with 32 off 33. The end was nigh, as Finn yorked Richarson 3rd ball, for a duck on his 37th birthday, as Middlesex pulled off an unlikely win by 132 runs, Kapil finishing 21 not out. Roland-Jones took 3-29, Murtagh 3-39, Berg 2-20 and Finn 2-30 as a solid team bowling effort gave the hosts 19 points for their 2nd win of the year as they rose to third in the table with Worcestershire's two points leaving them 2nd from bottom.
Denly's Day
After two days of rain, the third day of Middlesex vs Worcestershire began with Middlesex 148-2 after only 40 overs play.
Joe Denly and Chris Rogers resumed in gloomy damp conditions and it wasn't long before David Lucas had Rogers caught behind by Ben Scott for 9. Dawid Malan then fell to Alan Richardson, tearing in from the Nursery End, for a duck and when Neil Dexter left one first ball that annihilated his off stump, Middlesex had slumped to 172-5.
There then followed a long rain delay and at 2:45 with the question being, how long would Middlesex bat for in a now likely draw. Denly passed fifty (94 balls) and John Simpson provided able support as the 200 came up before Richardson took his fourth, finding the edge of Simpson's bat on 14. Gareth Berg joined Denly, and they denied Richardson his fifth and took the score past 250. Both batsmen were a bit lucky as Moeen Ali missed a couple of half-chances at mid-wicket.
Denly then reached his first Middlesex hundred with his 17th boundary, cracking Richard Jones to the long on boundary. A great innings given the poor batting by some of his team mates. Richardson would not be stopped, however, and Berg edged behind for 36 with the score 298-7 for his fifth wicket. Tim Murtagh and Denly then decided to play some shots and get a move on towards the declaration. In three overs they added 29, with Denly swinging Richardson into the Grand Stand for 6 and lashing a couple more fours to finish 134 not out. Murtagh being 8 off 11. 327-7 represented a great total after the morning collapse and Richardson's 5-89 giving the visitors a chance.
Daryl Mitchell and Michael Klinger came out to bat in what was looking like a draw and although generally awful weather was to cut short the day there was still time for action. Klinger edged Murtagh to Strauss who spilled a fairly easy catch. Mitchell wasn't so lucky and after almost heading a Steve Finn bouncer for leg byes, he flicked Murtagh to Dexter at mid-wicket fall for 14. Toby Roland-Jones then had Klinger off what was eventually the last ball of the day, caught by Sam Robson for 17, Worcestershire finishing 45-2, still 133 off avoiding the follow on, which may prove tricky for their batsmen.
Joe Denly and Chris Rogers resumed in gloomy damp conditions and it wasn't long before David Lucas had Rogers caught behind by Ben Scott for 9. Dawid Malan then fell to Alan Richardson, tearing in from the Nursery End, for a duck and when Neil Dexter left one first ball that annihilated his off stump, Middlesex had slumped to 172-5.
There then followed a long rain delay and at 2:45 with the question being, how long would Middlesex bat for in a now likely draw. Denly passed fifty (94 balls) and John Simpson provided able support as the 200 came up before Richardson took his fourth, finding the edge of Simpson's bat on 14. Gareth Berg joined Denly, and they denied Richardson his fifth and took the score past 250. Both batsmen were a bit lucky as Moeen Ali missed a couple of half-chances at mid-wicket.
Denly then reached his first Middlesex hundred with his 17th boundary, cracking Richard Jones to the long on boundary. A great innings given the poor batting by some of his team mates. Richardson would not be stopped, however, and Berg edged behind for 36 with the score 298-7 for his fifth wicket. Tim Murtagh and Denly then decided to play some shots and get a move on towards the declaration. In three overs they added 29, with Denly swinging Richardson into the Grand Stand for 6 and lashing a couple more fours to finish 134 not out. Murtagh being 8 off 11. 327-7 represented a great total after the morning collapse and Richardson's 5-89 giving the visitors a chance.
Daryl Mitchell and Michael Klinger came out to bat in what was looking like a draw and although generally awful weather was to cut short the day there was still time for action. Klinger edged Murtagh to Strauss who spilled a fairly easy catch. Mitchell wasn't so lucky and after almost heading a Steve Finn bouncer for leg byes, he flicked Murtagh to Dexter at mid-wicket fall for 14. Toby Roland-Jones then had Klinger off what was eventually the last ball of the day, caught by Sam Robson for 17, Worcestershire finishing 45-2, still 133 off avoiding the follow on, which may prove tricky for their batsmen.
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